REVIEW: RECTO RECTORS - FIGHT FOR YOUR GRIND

 

RECTO RECTORS - FIGHT FOR YOUR GRIND (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Recto Rectors

Tracks: 1- Raping the Ripped Reaper, 2- My Dog Was Taking a Shower when the phone rang..., 3- Lord of the Shit, 4- Cut the Cat, 5- More Stupid than a Stupid Idiot, 6- What about the Muck?, 7-21

Cover Art by Recto Rectors

Recto Rectors music, as the title of this CD tells us (and as their music confirms later) is pure grindcore of the fatest and rawest kind. Here we have short tracks that go at hyper speed (some of them, like "My Dog..." start slower but then goes to hyper speed turning slow again later) with extremely distorted vocals and ultra fast drum blast beats. There are 21 tracks on this CD (I only have the names of six of them) and the total time of this CD is something like twelve minutes. So, everything fits in the classic grind pattern. Extremely distorted guitars and bass, blast beats, guttural vocals, raw and primitive sound....if you like all this things then you have to check Recto Rectors music. 

Favorite tracks: "Lord of the Shit" and "Cut the Cat"

Contact: recto.rectors@yahoo.it

REVIEW: REARVIEW - ENJOY

REARVIEW - ENJOY (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Rearview

Tracks: 1- 3 Second Sex, 2- Milkway, 3- Enjoy

Here we have three tracks from this extremely climatic band. The album opens with a drum pattern followed by the bass guitar and the guitar playing some natural harmonics. Then enters Natalie´s whispering voice before getting into a heavier passage, then all of a sudden calm parts appear again. But is the calm before the storm. Rearview plays passages with extremely distorted guitars and interesting vocal harmonies. One of the main elements here are the vocals. The contrast between the melodic voices (Natalie is an awesome singer) and the heavier parts is amazing in "3 Second Sex" or "Enjoy". Tracks like those or "Milkway" show us how this guys and girl develope a lot of feelings through their music. Now we await a full length release from this awesome band.

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.rearview.de

REVIEW: RATOS DE PORAO - ONISCIENTE COLETIVO

RATOS DE PORAO - ONISCIENTE COLETIVO (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Alex Newport

Tracks: 1- Onisciente Coletivo (Radio Edit), 2- Onisciente Coletivo (Original Version, 3- Onisciente Coletivo (DJ Version)

Cover Art by Ratos de Porao

Here we have a single with three versions of the title track of the new album from the great brazilian band Ratos de Porao. The first one is sort of a censored version of the song "Onisciente Coletivo" with a lots of beeping where the censored lyrics are. Then the second version is the one that is featured on the new album with complete lyrics and then the third one (DJ Version) is an instrumental version of te song but with more arrangements and variations (and without vocals). I would really like to listen the complete album so I can make more comments on the new aspects of Ratos De porao´s music.  

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: PRIMORDIAL - STORM BEFORE CALM

PRIMORDIAL - STORM BEFORE CALM (Hammerheart Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Mags and Primordial

Tracks: 1- The Heretic Age, 2- Fallen To Ruin, 3- Cast To the Pyre, 4- Suns First Rays, 5- What Sleeps Within, 6- Sons of the Morrigan, 7- Hosting of the Sidhe

Cover Art by Marco Jeurissen

Recorded at Academy Studios

This CD starts at full speed with "The Heretic Age" ...a hyper fast track with crushing guitars and melodies that gives Primordial´s music a lot of identity. The main work here is in the guitars that are those who play the sad and epic melodies that make Primordial a unique band. Then comes the drumming that is fast and imaginative without missing a beat and adding a lot of musicianship to the music. The mix here helps a lot to the result because it makes each of the instruments shine. And here come another aspect that is essential to Primordial´s music: the vocals. Yes, the vocals go from black metal type of screaming to singing in a really epic tone and playing with the guitars. There are some acoustic guitars that give the music a climatic touch being like the calm before the storm (that comes when the double guitar attack enters in the songs (check for example "Fallen to Ruin"). Listen to this CD or perish!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.hammerheart.com

REVIEW: PHOBIC - SICK BLEMISHED UNCREATION

PHOBIC - SICK BLEMISHED UNCREATION (Elegy Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Phobic and Elegy Records.

Tracks: 1- Funebre Nuclearity, 2- Wickedness, 3- Iconoclast Rapture, 4- Feed Flesh Messenger, 5- Blemish Murder Execution, 6- Spawn Born In Sin, 7- Mured and Left Behind, 8- Manifestation of Hate, 9- the Right Ones, 10- Cancer of Soul, 11- S-L-999

Recorded at Maelström Studio

Phobic´s music sounds really strange to me. Despite having a death/black metal feeling, the way in which this CD is recorded has surprised me. First of all the vocals are brutal but at the same time follow rhythms that are not the common in this styles (check for example "Funebre Nuclearity". The guitars are fast and the bass is mixed really loud so the sound has a lot of bottom end. There are fast riffs (that are not of the one note type that are used in black metal or death metal many times) and some rhythms are closer to blast beats but the band prefers to play other type of stuff with more heaviness and mid tempos. The sound is good but I would like them to mix louder the guitars to add more brutality to the songs. The drums and vocals are well mixed and are the core of Phobic´s music. A brutal release with interesting arrangements. 

Favorite tracks: "Wickedness", "Blemish Murder Execution" and "The Right Ones"

Contact: www.elegymusic.com

REVIEW: OVERFIEND - SELF MEDICATED DREAMS

 

OVERFIEND - SELF MEDICATED DREAMS (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Barry Martin and Overfiend

Tracks: 1- Scars, 2- Hysterically Useless, 3- Ms.Take, 4- Bleed Me Weak

Cover Art by Rob Cinami

Recorded at Diamond Hill and Blackcloud Studios

This is obviously drug induced music!! Yes, it is really weird. First of all I have to say that the music here is metal but not of any of the styles that we listen often. In fact Overfiend´s music has elements of death metal (in some vocal parts), of modern metal (in the guitar and bass sound) and other styles (I think that some of the vocals sound like some doom or stoner band). Through the four tracks that we can listen on this CD Overfiend takes us through many different moods, tempo changes and speeds. There is plenty of experimentation here and this four musicians are not afraid of making people wonde what they are going to do next. If you want a band that is really original while at the same time extremely heavy then you got to listen some Overfiend.

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: www.overfiendmusic.com

REVIEW: OVERDRIVE 20 YEAR TRIBUTE COMPILATION

OVERDRIVE 20 YEAR TRIBUTE COMPILATION (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Tony De Block

Tracks: 1- ARTRACH "Curse of the Gladiator", 2- ARCHAI "Green Wave", 3- ESSATIC "Vermin", 4- BELLATOR "The Pulsar Voyage", 5- MOUSE ANALYSE "My Love For You?!, 6- MINDSTAB "Black Vise", 7- MORTIFER "The Old Monastery Infestation", 8- ACKROS "Pause", 9- DOUBLE DIAMOND "Run If You Can", 10- URZAMOTH "Sword of Destiny", 11- EVERGLOW "Lost In the Woods", 12- WELKIN "Sonic Death Monkey", 13- BLACK SNOW "Tales of Greed", 14- FLESHMOULD "NME", 15- CONTR-X "Embrace Our Slumber", 16- DEDICTED "Le grand Mal", 17- CRUSADER "King of Kings", 18- EXISTENCE DENIED "Numb To Reality"

Recorded at Midas Studios

Overdrive is a metal radio show that has been on the air for more than twenty years. And to celebrate this anniversary they have released this compilation CD with all bands from Belgium that have recorded this songs specailly for this album. Here you have bands from every metal style of the specter. Here you have the death/black metal of Archai, the death metal of Essatic, the more progressive metal sound of Everglow, the more straightforward heavy metal of Crusader and many more. The bands have a lot of quality and we have here more than seventy minutes of pure metal. The sound of the CD is good considering that each band recorded its song in just one session in the studio. This is a really good tribute for people that have fought for a long time for this style of music.

Favorite bands: Bellator, Dedicted, Everglow and Urzamoth

Contact: www.overdrive666.tk

REVIEW: OBITUARY - ANTHOLOGY

 

OBITUARY - ANTHOLOGY (Roadrunner Records, 2000)

 

Compiled By: Donald tardy, Obituary and Monte Conner

Tracks: 1- Find The Arise (demo), 2- ´Til Death, 3- Internal Bleeding, 4- Intoxicated, 5- Slowly We Rot, 6- Cause of Death, 7- Dying, 8- Chopped in half, 9- Turned Inside Out, 10- Back To one, 11- The End Complete, 12- I´m In pain, 13- Kill For Me, 14- Final Thoughts, 15- Don´t Care, 16- Threatening Skies, 17- By the Light, 18- Back From the Dead, 19- Buried Alive, 20- Boiling Point (212º Sporadic Mix)

Mastered by George Marino, Chris Gehringer and V E Nastasi

This is a compilation CD with songs coming from all of Obituary´s releases (except from the live album). Some of the songs here have been remastered and have a better sound than in their original versions (specially the ones from the "Slowly We Rot" album which had a rather primitive sound). Here we also have some difficult to find tracks like "Find the Arise" a 1986 demo from the beginnings of the band when they were called Xecutioner. We also have here "Buried Alive" and "Boiling Point (212º Sporadic Mix)" which are unreleased tracks that can be listened here for the first time. A must for Obituary fans. 

Favorite tracks: "Slowly We Rot", "Chopped in Half" and "The End Complete"

Contact: www.roadrunner.com

REVIEW: NOWHERE - ....RAGE AFTER SILENCE

 NOWHERE - ....RAGE AFTER SILENCE (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Paso

Tracks: 1- My taking Off, 2- Saint Whore, 3- Mr.Nobody, 4- Cries

Cover Art by Nowhere

Recorded at Fear Studio

Nowhere plays really modern death/thrash metal with all that this expression means: that is heavy riffs, with a huge guitar sound in all the riffs, vocals in the vein of bands like Machine Head (that is sometimes screaming at the top of the lungs and sometimes singing eerie melodies) even if they are completely different than the ones in this band. Tghe four songs contained on this CD are extremely heavy and powerful and some of them like "Saint Whore" have really fast parts (with sort of a hardcore attitude). The whole recording has a killer sound and this is esential for the heavy sound that the band has achieved here (specially for the combination of guitars and bass in the heaviest parts). This is modern metal to destroy your brain with heavier than hell riffs.

Favorite tracks: "Saint Whore" and "Cries"

Contact: www.nowhere-akom.it

REVIEW: NOCTURNAL RITES - SHADOWLAND

NOCTURNAL RITES - SHADOWLAND (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Daniel Bergstrand

Tracks: 1- Eyes of the Dead, 2- Shadowland, 3- Invincible, 4- Revelation, 5- Never Die, 6- Underworld, 7- Vengenace, 8- Faceless God, 9- Birth of Chaos, 10- The Watcher

Nocturnal Rites is with no doubt one of the most powerful power metal bands that have ever surfaced. First of all, their riffs are much more powerful than those that one can listen in any of the other bands of the style, they are faster and they don´t abuse the galloping rhythms prefering more interestiong riffs (check the "Shadowland" for example). Then they have a singer who sings putting all his guts in the melodies instead of simply abusing the high pitches melodies, and he has a lot of personality to distinguish his voice from the others of the style. Then this guys have Daniel Bergstrand producing them and that has made the guitars louder and more in your face as is also the keyboard (I like a lot the way this album is mixed because the production have make things tighter but have not taken the power of the band away as sometimes happen). Lovers of power metal will enjoy this one. 

Favorite tracks: "Underworld", "Faceless God" and "Revelation"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: NOBODY´S FOOL - 2002

 NOBODY´S FOOL - 2002 (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: BK and Nobody´s Fool

Tracks: 1- Inside Out, 2- Hold On, 3- Forever, 4- Bye Bye

Cover Art by Nobody´s Fool

This is a four track demo promo CD from this australian rocking band. Here we have four new songs with a lot of hooks in the choruses and the riffs. The sound is a little bit more thin here than in the "II" CD (specially on the drums) and I liked more the drums sound in the other CD. The songs are well constructed and they have this eighties rocking feeling that is typical from this band. There are also the solos by BK that are an extra ingredient for Nobody´s Fool´s music that add some flavours that lovers of guitar will like. 

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: http://nobodysfool.cjb.net

REVIEW: NOBODY´S FOOL - II

NOBODY´S FOOL - II (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Nobody´s Fool

Tracks: 1- Living in Another World, 2- Party, 3- Easy, 4- Forbidden Fruit, 5- Without You, 6- Heaven, 7- Born To the Sun, 8- Guiding Lights

Cover Art by Milosz

Recorded at EA Studios

Nobody´s Fool is a great hard rocking band from Australia. It ´s been a long time since I did not listened to an album as rocking as this one or the one by Machine Gun Kelly that we are reviewing too. The music here is heavily influenced by eighties rock and roll bands. One of the main things here is the job that BK, the guitarist does through all the recording. Playing all the rocking riffs and adding a lot of solos on each track here. Here we also have a rocking vocalist with some bluesy shades in his voice that add a warm touch to each of the tracks here. This is a demonstration that hard rock is not dead and that there are great bands like Nobody´s Fool out there!

Favorite tracks: "Living In Another World", "Born To the Sun" and "Heaven"

Contact: http://nobodysfool.cjb.net

REVIEW: NINE FINGERS LEFT - GROWING AS A HUMAN

 

NINE FINGERS LEFT - GROWING AS A HUMAN (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Chico Santos and Johnny Cadaver

Tracks: 1- Make Up Your Mind, 2- Down To Nothing, 3- Found a New Day, 4- As a Human

Cover Art by Américas and NFL

Recorded at Morgan Sul Estudios

The CD starts really rhythmically in the vein of bands like Biohazard but even with more rhythm in the vocals. The guitars are here used to emphasize this type of rhythms that are constructed around some riff and the drums patterns. Here we have a lot of hardcore influences too that are evident mainly in some of the vocals and in some of the guitar riffs. The production here is very polished and the guitars sound specially heavy and clear. Ther is also use of clean guitars like in the beginning of "Down To Nothing" which soon get into heavier ones and into a faster rhythm. Lovers of bands like Biohazard or maybe later day Agnostic Front will like Nine Fingers Left with no doubt.

Favorite tracks: "Make up Your Mind", "Down To Nothing" and "As a Human"

Contact: ninefingersleft@hotmail.com

REVIEW: NIGHTWISH - CENTURY CHILD

NIGHTWISH - CENTURY CHILD (Spinefarm Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Tuomas Holopainen and Tee Cee Kinnunen

Tracks: 1- Bless the Child, 2- End of All Hope, 3- Dead To the World, 4- Ever Dream, 5- Slaying the Dreamer, 6- Forever Yours, 7- Ocean Soul, 8- Feel For You, 9- The Phantom of the Opera, 10- Beauty of the Beast

Cover Art by Markus Mayer

Recorded at Caverock Studios

Here we have Nightwish´s new album. And I have to say that this album is closer to "Oceanborn" than to "Wishmaster". Why? Because it has a heavier sound than on their previous release ("Wishmaster") which had a lot of emphasis on easy listening melodies. Here we have riffs that can be compared to the ones in classics like "Passion and the Opera" or songs like that one (check "Slaying the Dreamer"). On "Century Child" we have also more male vocals that contrast a lot with Tarja´s ones and add new sides to Nightwish´s music. The sound of this album is excellent and makes the music shine even more. .

Favorite tracks: "Slaying the Dreamer", "Beauty of the Beast" and "Ocean Soul"

Contact: www.spinefarm.fi

REVIEW: NEVER AGAIN - GERMAN DEATH METAL AGAINST FASCISM

 

NEVER AGAIN - GERMAN DEATH METAL AGAINST FASCISM (Deich Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Michael Eden

Tracks: 1- PROFANITY: Thw springs within, 2- SPAWN: At the Gates of Human Mercy, 3- MEATKNIFE: Bloodblister, 4- MEATKNIFE: Tombstone sucker, 5- TEARS OF DECAY: Redemption, 6- MENTAL ABERRATION: Escape from Within, 7- MALEDICTIVE PIGS: Delicay Deformity, 8- EMBEDDED: The forsaken Soul, 9- FETUS CHRIST: To those who Oppose, 10- GALLERY OF DARKNESS: Sea of Silence, 11- VERY WICKED: Creation of a God, 12-FALLEN YGGDRASIL: Nightflower, 13- IMPURE: Something Evil, 14- CRYPTIC: Shrinkhead Butt Plug, 15- ANASARCA: Something Evil, 16- INTESTIONAL INFECTION: Der Arbeiter, 17- INTESTIONAL INFECTION: Nazischweine, 18- THORNESBREED: Dream of Extinction, 19- FESTERING SALVIA: Festering Salvia Live, 20- OF TREES AND ORCHIDS: Nywlathetep; 21- FEARER: Stored Experiment; 22- DESPONDENCY: Dogmatic Strangehold

Cover Art by Michael Eden

Here we have 22 tracks of pure death metal from bands coming from Germany who show their feelings against fascism and nazism. Here is pure brutality with fast riffs from bands like Profanity or Of Trees and Orchids or the technicality of Embedded. There is a lot of difference in the sound of each band and some of them are mixed better than others but they all show teir brutality and their devastating riffs. My aboslute favorite here is Thornesbreed that delivers a brutal yet climatic tune that melts the listener´s brain. Apart from being a manifest against fascism this is a good sampler of underground death metal bands that are showing their talents in Germany today. A must

Favorite bands: Of trees and Orchids, Thornesbreed and Despondency

Contact: www.deichrecords.de

REVIEW: NECROPHOBIC - BLOODHYMNS

NECROPHOBIC - BLOODHYMNS (Hammerheart Records, 2002)

Produced By: Necrophobic and Tomas Skogsberg

Tracks: 1- Taste of Black, 2- Dreams Shall Flesh, 3- Act of Rebellion, 4- Shadowseeds, 5- Mourningsoul, 6- Helfire, 7- Cult of Blood, 8- Roots of Heldrassil, 9- Blood Anthem, 10- Among the Storms

Cover Art by Sebastian Ramstedt

Recorded at Sunlight Studios

Necrophobic is a powerful death/black metal band with interesting thrash touches. Here we have their powerful new album which was recorded on the mythic Sunlight Studios where the nineties scandinavian death metal scene developed. This time they have ten powerful tracks that are extremely fast and really powerful. Tobias Sidegård´s vocals are powerful as hell going from screaming to guttural but always adding power to the tracks. Also thumbs up for the killer drummer Joakim Sterner who can be clearly listened on this album (this CD has a great mix....Tomas Skogsberg is a genius doing this). The tracks here have subtle melodies as the ones you can hear in "Shadowseeds" which create a darker mood that is great in Necrophobic hands. 

Favorite tracks: "Dreams Shall Flesh", "Mourningsoul" and "Shadowseeds"

Contact: www.hammerheart.com

REVIEW: NAZGUL - DE EXPUGNATIONE ELFMUTH

 

NAZGUL - DE EXPUGNATIONE ELFMUTH (Elegy Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Nazgul

Tracks: 1- Proemium, 2- Hult-Garth, 3- Elficidium, 4- Dies Festi..., 5- In Summis Montibus, 6- Nigrum Praesagium, 7- Impetus Quartae Lunae Novar, 8- Caelum Obscuratur, 9- Legio Draconarum orkian, 10- Natura Cadit, 11- Charcharon, 12- Solvitur Ad Elfmuth, 13- Bellum, 14- Epilogus

Cover Art by Vite

Recorded at Petit Studio

Here we have this band that plays "orkish black metal". In fact their music is black metal with many orchestrated parts mixed with some extremely fasta and raw parts. The vocals here are of different types, from the trollish (or orkish) type to a more guttural one to a bass spoken one. This guys know how to do an orchestral compositiona nd they show it through all this release...each of the songs here have a lot of keyboards and samplers that reflects the feeling that this guys want to transmit to the listener. When combined with the hyper raw guitar (that is mixed a little bit low for my taste) and the programmed drums this gives us Nazgul´s sound. The sound is good, specially on the keyboards (the main elment here) and the vocals (I prefer the spoken vocals because they give more atmosphere to the tracks). Lovers of atmospheric black metal will like this one for sure

Favorite tracks: All the CD, specially the orchestrated parts

Contact: www.elegymusic.com

REVIEW: MOURMANSK 150 - PSORIASIS GYRATA 3

MOURMANSK 150 - PSORIASIS GYRATA 3" (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Mourmansk 150

Tracks: 1- Skin and Internal Disorder, 2- Diagnosis, 3- Treatment, 4- Surgical Techniques

Cover Art by Unknownsickness

Here we have four tracks of pure experimentation with electronic sounds. Elemental sounds are mixed with electronics making this experiment in sonic madness. Mourmansk 150 knows no limits for their exploration of sonic boundaries, sometimes closer to noise and sometimes closer to ambient. Tracks like "Treatment" are more chaotic while tracks like "Diagnosis" have a different structure and show more coherence with spoken dialogues and sounds from some documentals from nazism and war. The compositions are quite long (more or less five minutes each) delivering a total of twenty minutes of pure exploration of sonic tapestries. People who enjoy this type of experimentation will surely find Mourmansk 150´s music interesting.  

Favorite tracks: "Diagnosis" and "Surgical techniques"

Contact: http://mourmansk150.free.fr

REVIEW: MOTIVE - DAMNED IF YOU DO...

 

MOTIVE - DAMNED IF YOU DO... (Independent, 2001 )

 

Produced By: Motive

Tracks: 1- Expose The Lies, 2- Spiral Fracture, 3- Religious Intent, 4- The Deep End, 5- Land, 6- Damned if You Do, 7- Almost Over, 8- Liberty

This is a previous recording from this powerful band and comparing this to the 4 song demo that we reviewed before you can listen to the evolution that this band has suffered, specially getting a better sound. Here we have all the other elements from Motive´s sound, the fast drumming (the double bass work is not so clear on this recording), the great bass work, the fast guitar riffs and solos and the vocals that later became more powerful and have been mixed in a better way. This is a good band for those looking for pure power and energy and some wild attitude.

Favorite tracks: "Spiral Fracture", "Land" and "The Deep End"

Contact: www.motive1.homestead.com

REVIEW: MOTIVE - 4 SONG EP

 

MOTIVE - 4 SONG EP (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Motive

Tracks: 1- Lochness, 2- Straight Madness, 3- Burnt Flavor, 4- Genetic Cleansing

Here we have this 4 song EP from this guys whose main influences are in the thrash and death metal styles. There are elements of old school death metal in many of the riffs here and also many influences from bands from the mid eighties and late eighties, specially on the drums rhythms (but this guy also makes interesting double bass patterns that give extra points to the songs. There is also an excellent work by the bass player who is really tight with the drums yet making interesting phrases and arrangements (here the mix lets us hear clearly the bass). The vocals are really wild and have a lot of power that make Motive a really energetic band. We want more from them!

Favorite tracks: "Lochness" and "Burnt Flavor"

Contact: www.motive1.homestead.com

REVIEW: MINDLOCK - SOULFRACTURE

 

MINDLOCK - SOULFRACTURE (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Lars Schmidt

Tracks: 1- The Four Walls, 2- Unconsciously Aware, 3- Voice Within, 4- Soulfracture, 5- Exposed

Cover Art by Morten Ussing

Recorded at SoundZone Studio

This is an EP released by the guys of Mindlock before the Promo 01. Here you have all the elements that make Mindlock´s music a neck breaking experience. Here you have the powerful riffs, the drum patterns that makes you bang your head, the powerful vocals that add a lot of power accentuating the riffs while spitting the words. The sound in the Promo 01 is better and that is good because it means that this guys have a clear picture of what they want inside their heads. The four songs on this EP have no mercy for the listener, crushing him from the beginning to the end with its smashing power!!

Favorite tracks: "The Four Walls" and "Voice Within"

Contact: www.mindlock.dk

REVIEW: MINDLOCK - PROMO 01

 

MINDLOCK - PROMO 01 (Independent, 2001 )

Produced By: Mindlock

Tracks: 1- True Face, 2- Don´t You Care?, 3- Shattered Dreams

Cover Art by Mindlock

Recorded at Soundzone Studios

Here we have Mindlock, a powerful band whose music can be described as braincrushing metal with nineties influences from bands like Pantera, Sepultura, Pro-Pain and others.The music has intense riffs designed for the mosh pit or for headbanging (I mean, they are those guitar riffs that make yoou jump again and again making you loose control). The drummer here is a guy who knows exactly what fits better the song in the style of drummers like Chris Kontos or even Raymond Herrera and when combined with the guitars and the powerful vocals they create Mindlock´s mindmelting music. The three songs on this promo have really good sound and I really hope that they release a full length really soon!!!

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.mindlock.dk

REVIEW: MINDBREAK - WELCOME TO THIS WORLD.

 

MINDBREAK - WELCOME TO THIS WORLD... (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Mindbreak

Tracks: 1- Apathy, 2- Disharmony, 3- Centurio, 4- Broken Minded

Cover Art by Mindbreak

Here we have this powerful death core band. First of all I have to say that the sound here is really good (I expected some poor quality sound but I was wrong). Then come the songs which are extremely powerful, specially because of the heavier than hell guitar riffs and the powerful vocals. All the songs here have a main riff which is the center of the track and then they have some rhythm changes and breaks. But the main thing here is that Mindbreak have developed four really deathly and powerful tracks with interesting drumming and a focus in brutality but without forgetting songwriting. Check this brutal band and let them surround you with their violence!

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.mindbreak-metal.com

REVIEW: MIND WILD - SPIRIT

MIND WILD - SPIRIT (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Mind Wild

Tracks: 1- Thrashers Rievocation, 2- Mindwild Spirit, 3- P.I.´99, 4- My Wild Mind, 5- No One´s Calling, 6- Inculation

Cover Art by Mind Wild

Mind Wild is pure thrash with an old school feeling and some death metal shades. Their music is fast with eighties riffs and some hardcore elements that give a different feeling to some parts. The songs are well constructed and you can imagine yourself in the late eighties thrash scene (even if this guys have a more modern sound). The sound is good and raw and it is not overproduced, so the music has this underground quality that many bands had in its beginnings (for example I find some Venom sound in "P.I.´99". There are faster parts that are closer to death metal like the end of "Mindwild Spirit". I find amazing how there seem to be a comeback of thrash metal to the underground but renewed with new sound and elments from other styles. 

Favorite tracks: "Mindwild Spirit", "My Wild Mind" and "Inculation"

Contact: mindwild@genie.it

REVIEW: MACHINE GUN KELLY - HELL´S INN

 

MACHINE GUN KELLY - HELL´S INN (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Tommy and Machine Gun Kelly

Tracks: 1- Hell´s Inn, 2- Stoned king, 3- Machine Gun Kelly, 4- On the Run, 5- Danger In the Wasteland

Cover Art by Umberto

Recorded at Nadir Studios

Machine Gun Kelly is aband whose music can be defined as hard rock, but the band has some metal elements and influences and they have also a heavier guitar sound when compared to bands of the style. Here we have five rocking tracks that contain good riffs and some punk attitude in the singing and in some bass and drums rhythms. The mix of this MCD is really polished and that makes the result even more direct and powerful because you can listen every instrument that is played here clearly. The songs have a lot of hooks, specially on the choruses that are designed to be singed along by the crowd. This is rock of really good quality

Favorite tracks: "Stoned King", "Machine Gun kelly" and "On the Run"

Contact: umberto16@supereva.it

REVIEW: LITHAM - DHAL ENNAR

 

LITHAM - DHAL ENNAR (Independent, 1999)

Produced By: Lelahel Metal

Tracks: 1- Ila Voum Eddine, 2- Secrets, 3-El Djamra, 4- Elixir, 5- Empire of Ibliss, 6- L´Kahf, 7- Chapter XIII, 8- El Litham

Cover Art by Litham

Recorded at Saad Kezzime

This is a very special recording, because it is the first metal recording done in Argelia. And it is a really extreme and good one. Litham plays some death metal with incredible arrangements and with some influences from their homeland (and that is really good and you can listen it in some of the guitar and vocal melodies). The songs are complex and this guys have the technical skills needed to achieve the compositional level that they wanted (specially the guitarist that is killer in all the solos and melodies. I hope this album and band opens up the way for other bands from Argelia and other african countries that deserve to be heard through all the world.

Favorite tracks: All the tracks. One of the best albums of the month.

Contact: www.litham.fr.st

REVIEW: LIQUEFIED SKELETON - RIPPED AND TORN

 

LIQUEFIED SKELETON - RIPPED AND TORN (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Liquefied Skeleton

Tracks: 1- From Within, 2- Ripped and Torn, 3- Spill the Blood, 4- Messiah

Cover Art by Gilmour Design

Recorded at Springvale Studios

Hyper fast drumming, guttural vocals, blast beats, super fast riffs, heavier than hell guitars. All this elements are present in Liquefied Skeleton´s music. Their music is hyper fast and they are goingo for the highest level of brutality a band can achieve. There are riffs which I like more like the one at 1:10 of "From Within" (I think this guys have to use more of this riffs because they are devastating). The drummer is amazing in the fastest parts and accentuates really well the rhythmic riffs while adding some double bass drumming. The vocals are guttural as hell and fit perfectly Liquefied Skeleton´s music. One thing that I have to say is that Liquefied Skeleton recorded this MCD as a trio but now they have added another guitarist so the result must be even more crushing. Music designed to melt your brain!!

Favorite tracks: "From Within" and "Ripped and Torn"

Contact: www.liquefiedskeleton.com

REVIEW: LIFE KIT - MONKEY NUMBER ONE (ADVANCE)

LIFE KIT - MONKEY NUMBER ONE (ADVANCE) (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Life Kit

Tracks: 1- The Brief Case Man, 2- A Hand pulls Me Downward, 3- Faith and Lies, 4- Draught Air

This is an advance CD of the new album from the guys of Life Kit . When compared to "Life is a Code" this one seem to have a rawer sound (I don´pt know if this is a rough mix or not) and also the songs are much more weird than the ones contained on the previous release. Here we have many changes in riffs, moods and rhythms that are more complex than in the previous album. Also it seems to me that the vocals are darker this time with more harmonies that help to this feeling. There are interesting guitar riffs (played with a strange sounding guitar, I think he is using a lot of flanger effect) that make each song more powerful than the other. I would really like to listen the whole CD because Life Kit main characteristic is that each song is completely different from the other.  

Favorite tracks: The four.

Contact: www.life-kit.com

REVIEW: LIFE KIT - LIFE IS A CODE

 

LIFE KIT - LIFE IS A CODE (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Bush K.

Tracks: 1- Metamorphosis, 2- Life kit, 3- Bitch, 4- Laps, 5- Bonus Video clip

Cover Art by Androgyne

This is a 4 track MCD from this band that also sent us an advance of their new CD. The first thing that got my attention is how well the drums sound here (in fact this CD opens with a drum passage that sounds extremely powerful). This guys have elements of death and modern (specially in the sound and in the vocals) metal in their music. Another thing that I listen here is the eastern sounding melody that this guys play in the middle of "Metamorphosis". There are some elements closer to bands like Fear Factory (like the guitar sound) even if the rhythms are completely different. The guitars sound really fat creating with the other instruments a wall of sound. The vocalist is really versatile going from a guttural and aggressive voice to a darker type of vocals with no problem. A powerful release!!

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.life-kit.com